Politics

Somalia, Apr 18: Next month's peace talks between the Somali interim government and the ousted opposition will not include the local Holy Warriors Youth (HWY) movement, which was designated last month by the United States as a terror organization.
Hosted by Djibouti, the peace talks with the opposition Alliance for the Re-Liberation of...

New York, Apr 17: The United Nations Special Representative for Somalia, Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, says he is very encouraged by the latest positive political developments taking place regarding Somalia.
New York, Apr 17: The United Nations Special Representative for Somalia, Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, says he is very encouraged by the latest...

New York, Apr 17: Somalia's interim president says an upcoming round of peace talks with the country's armed opposition will not include any discussion on the presence of Ethiopian troops in the war-torn Horn of Africa nation.
President Abdullahi Yusuf, who arrived in New York for a UN Security Council session, told the BBC Somali Service...

Somalia, Apr 16: Two US warships have arrived at Somaliland after the ruler of the self-proclaimed republic offered to host a US naval base there.
During US Defense Secretary Robert Gates' visit to Djibouti late last year, the US military expressed interest in security coordination with Somaliland government that can offer greater potential for...

Somalia, Apr 16: Somali Asmara opposition party has agreed to open talks with the Ethiopia-backed interim government, after it expressed hope for peace.
Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, head of Alliance for the Re-Liberation of Somalia based in Asmara, confirmed the report in a press conference in Djibouti Wednesday, adding he was placing no conditions...

Paris, Apr 15: France on Tuesday awaited permission from Somalia to put six pirates on trial for hijacking a French yacht and holding its 30 crew members including six Filipinos hostage for a week.
The six pirates captured by French special forces were to be flown to France on Wednesday, a source close to the case said. But the foreign...

Hargeisa (Somalia), Apr 14: Residents in Somalia's second-largest city have reportedly been surprised at government troops amassing along major city streets in recent days.
Local media reports indicate that troops loyal to the government of Somaliland, a breakaway republic in northern Somalia, have been redeployed from frontier regions to Hargeisa...

Paris, Apr 13: France?s defence minister warned today it would not tolerate extortion attempts, after 30 hostages were freed from a luxury boat off Somalia and a French military operation against pirates who had held them.
Morin also called on the United Nations to launch an "international initiative" to protect maritime shipping...

Kenya, Apr 13: The president of Somalia' s Puntland State government met privately with former Somali Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi on Friday in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.
Gen. Mohamud "Adde" Muse, the president of Puntland, flew from neighboring Ethiopia where he held extensive talks with government officials there regarding...

Somalia, Apr 13: The president of Somalia's transitional federal government, Abdullahi Yusuf, flew from the capital Mogadishu Saturday to Nairobi, Kenya.
Before leaving, President Yusuf told reporters at the Villa Somalia presidential compound that he will attend a United Nations session in New York City, where he plans to push for more...

Somalia, Apr 12: When I first travelled to Somalia three years ago, flying to the country required little logistical preparations (only faith in the pilot's abilities). Outside of Mogadishu, few cities had tarmac runways, and most landing strips amounted to little more than dirt tracks.
Arriving from Kenya, the welcoming committee in...

Somalia, Apr 12: Ethiopian forces take control of Cadaado town north of the Somali capital, Mogadishu, while al-Shabaab fighters re-capture Buuloburde. Meanwhile, in another development the islamist rebels al-Shabaab forces used the Ethiopians' absence, recapturing Buuloburde in Hiiraan region as soon as the foreign troops headed for Cadaado....

Paris, Apr 12: Thirty crew members of the French luxury yacht have been freed after the ship owner reportedly paid $2 million ransom. However, some of the detained Somali pirates were now in custody after an operation led by the French military.
At least three of the Somali abductors were later captured or killed by French special forces...

Somalia, Apr 11: Six of the pirates who took over the French luxury cruise ship Le Ponant have been arrested by French forces following the liberation of the vessel?s 30 crew members.
President Nicolas Sarkozy earlier announced that the hostages including 22 French crew members of Le Ponant had been freed in an operation that took...

Somalia, Apr 11: Pirates have freed 30 hostages held aboard a French tourist yacht off Somalia's coast for the past week following a peaceful operation that involved the French military, French officials said Friday.
The ship was seized by pirates last week between the Gulf of Aden between Somalia and Yemen. In a statement, French...